Flash A’ Stache finale this Saturday night

Calling all moustaches that are involved in the local Dare to Flash A ’Stache campaign to raise awareness and money for Porstate Cancer in November….the time is almost here.

This Saturday night, November 29, the campaign will come to an exciting close, with the removal of some ’Staches, a silent auction and three fun and exciting games of hockey at the Winchester Arena.

The evening fun will kick off at 7 p.m. with a hockey game between the South Dundas and North Dundas Ladies.

Game two will be between the old Winchester Hawks and those old Morrisburg Lions Alumni who have crept up over the 35 year category.

Then the younguns will take to the ice in the under 35 year Hawks versus Lions match.

The local Flash A ’Stache campaign will benefit the Cancer Care Navigation Program at Winchester District Memorial Hospital, improving the experience for those diagnosed and affected by cancer; and Dr. Anthony Bella’s Men’s Health Research Project, for for improving quality of life for men following prostate cancer treatment.

There are so many men and families affected by Prostate cancer and the Movember Dare to Flash A’ Stache has been a hugely successful initiative to bring awareness to it.

Organizers of the Saturday night, November 29 event, are really looking forward to a good turnout and a good show of support for this great cause.

Officials have also just released the lineups for the four hockey teams that will be out in full support of the campaign.

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A 12 year relationship between the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Community Futures Development Corporation is about to come to an end.

For 12 years, the SD&G CFDC has provided economic development services on behalf of the counties, but at the last meeting of counties council it was decided that the counties will look after its own economic development. The decision was reported to South Dundas council at the Sept. 18 meeting.

“It was felt that there was a disconnect between the CFDC, counties council and counties staff,” explained South Dundas mayor and counties councillor Steven Byvelds. The counties now have a new strategic plan, and with this plan, felt now was the time for them to start looking after economic development themselves. So, they will be doing so in 2013.

According to Byvelds, this should lead to a lot of positive synergies, as he sees the counties economic development work tying in significantly with the economic development work being done through the lower tier municipalities in SD&G.

“This is an opportunity for the Counties and the lower tiers to work together on a central goal of economic development,” said Byvelds.

“Secondly, facility rentals are comprised of two sections: non-alcoholic event and alcoholic event. The non-alcohol event can use their homeowners or tenant policy which covers their exposure.”

“The alcohol event requires a minimum of $2 million Commercial General Liability with a $500 deductible and includes injury to participants. Our previous blanket policy did not include injury to participants.”

Finally, there are the Special Events groups such as “Old Home Week, Tubiefest, Antiquefest, Applefest, Harvestfest, BIA Plaza Party” and so on.

Brunt told council that “our objective was to transfer risk away from the township. Our insurance agent thought we were practising good risk management.”

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke interjected saying that “since the last meeting I’ve spent a lot of time researching event insurance” and this is “not special to South Dundas.”

Brunt reported that “as public organizations with taxation power and ‘deep pockets’, municipalities have become targets of litigation when other defendants do not have the means to pay.”

Brunt provides an example of such a situation in her written recommendation: “the bouncy castle jumping apparatus at Old Home Week – if there was an accident it would start with the owner’s insurance and then the event organizer’s insurance and then the Township. If the event organizer didn’t have insurance then it would go to the Township second. This would be bad risk management. Therefore, the Township is implementing good risk management practises that transfer the risk.”

Locke pointed out that the new policy “not only protects the township, but the organizers as well.”

“First we have to agree that there’s a need for this,” he continued and “down the road discuss how it’s funded.”

Councillor Jim Graham said that “our policy wasn’t put in place to deter volunteers. We all know the value of our volunteers.”

While Councillor Evonne Delegarde agreed that there’s “no question that we need proper insurance,” she also voiced concern about insurance “eating into (volunteer groups’) profits.”

She suggested that “perhaps there’s some way we can look at funding this for these groups” because they’re an “extremely important part of the township.”

She went on to emphasize that council “really has to pay attention to” the township’s volunteers.

In terms of the extra insurance for renting facilities, Delegarde said, “one of my concerns is that the facilities would not be rented.”

At this point, Councillor Archie Mellan remarked that “nobody likes insurance” and that “nothing would scare away a volunteer quicker” than “getting stung.”

He went on to say that “we’re doing this to be proactive for the township” because if the worst were to happen, “rates go up and that impacts our budgets,” which, in turn, impacts the volunteers and residents of South Dundas.

He pointed out that “we just need one claim and we’ll be glad we have” the policy in place.

Locke agreed that “it’s just doing due diligence” in that the policy is a “general benefit to the township (and) we are representing the people of the township.”

Mayor Steven Byvelds pointed out that other municipalities have “changed their way of doing things – not just us. They all say volunteers need to have insurance.”

“As much as we value our volunteers, we don’t want them” to face a lawsuit.

“Next year, when we look at our donations (we can) see if that funding window will be increased.”